


Clarity

by Royolis



Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: AU influenced by Black Butler, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Background Relationships, Complicated Relationships, Drama, F/M, I'm Bad At Summaries, I'm Bad At Tagging, Language, Mild Gore, No Valla, No dragons, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Past Child Abuse, Past Torture, demon!Jakob, reaper!Laslow, reaper!Odin, reaper!Selena
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-23
Updated: 2016-10-25
Packaged: 2018-08-24 05:22:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 19,855
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8358916
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Royolis/pseuds/Royolis
Summary: Corrin's has been plagued by cloudy nightmares for the long 11 years she's spent isolated in the northern fort. After being given the chance to go out on a diplomatic mission by her father, she finds that everything isn't as clear as she once thought, that is, except for the nightmare. Events unfold as she begins to unravel these dreams and seek out the truth behind them, her family, and herself.





	1. Normality

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! This is my first ever work, so please, I will take any and all help, complaints, and suggestions for the future. 
> 
> This AU I've had in mind ever since I first started to play Birthright, which my first thought was, _Holy shit, I get a battle butler._ This was after watching most of the Black Butler anime and catching up on the manga, so the rest you could say fell into place.

Chapter 1: Normality

_A scream pierced through the hazy vision. She heard a child crying close by, before realizing her cheeks are damp with tears. A man in green robes slumped to his knees before falling face down. The smell of iron is thick in the air. The smell of blood. A sharp pain yanked at her arm. Before she can struggle, a large hand roughly covered her mouth with a dirty rag. She huffed, squirming to get away, but it’s no use as her vision went dark for a moment before she found herself surrounded by ominous shadows. The pain persisted and grew unbearable as cold and fear started to flood her heart. She felt something splatter against her face, and a voice called out._

_“Lady Corrin?”_

_She swallowed as she slowly looked down to see what got on her. Cruel and cold laughter rang in her ears._

_“Lady Corrin?”_

_Red. Deep, dark, red. She looked forward and screamed._

“Lady Corrin!”

Corrin shot up in her bed, panting heavily and frantically looking around. No blood. Good. She could hear distant birds chirping in the fort’s courtyard. She looked outside to the rocky, snow tipped mountains that surround her northern keep and glow in the morning twilight that her country was known for. The room smelled of its usual mixture of ink, musty books, and tea.

“Are you alright, milady?”

She jumped at the sudden voice, looked, and then let out a deep sigh. “I-I’m fine now, thanks Jakob,” Corrin lied as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes. Like he did every morning, Jakob stood near the foot of her bed with a tray of her favorite morning tea blend and a very ornate tea cup. His look of worry relaxed for a moment before going back to his stern, but slight smile. He approached the side of her bed, carefully dodging and weaving through the various books strewn around the room. He placed the tray down on a small table and pouring her a cup of tea.

“As long as you are fine now, that’s all that matters, milady. Here is your cup of morning tea as I read you your schedule for today.” 

She hummed as he handed her the cup. The warmth and spiced scent of morning tea had always a calming and healing property, especially after the occasional nightmare.

“This morning, you will be studying with your private tutors in the library. At 12:30, you will be having a small lunch, followed by lessons in courtly etiquette by Gunter.”

She rolled her eyes and took another sip. _That means shoes… ugh._

“In the afternoon, you have sparring practice with Silas. Tonight, your brothers and sisters will be arriving at 7, and will be dining on ragout de boeuf at Lord Leo’s request.”

“When is that never his request?”

“When he’s requesting tomatoes, milady.” 

Corrin giggled and glanced up to see his grin. She set the finished cup on the tray, turning to sit on the edge of the bed. She stretched her arms out with a yawn. The door creaked open as a cyan-hair maid stepped into the room, dropping the ambient temperature by 5 degrees. They both turn to her, giving a slight nod as she gave a slight bow.

“The bath is ready and I will take my leave, milady,” Jakob said, taking the tea tray with him as he turned to leave. “Thank you, Jakob,” he heard Corrin say in her groggy voice just before the door closes. He stood outside the door for a moment before letting out a deep breath and letting his smile fade to his normal emotionless mask.

So much to do before tonight, balancing the tray with one hand, he pulled out a pocket watch from his breast with the other. _Ten hours to do it all in, however, it’s probably closer to two considering how things generally go…_

He let his thoughts trail off as he made his way to the kitchen to get breakfast prepared for his lady.

…

“I’m s-sorry! Sorry! S-Sooo sorry!”

Confused wouldn’t even begin to describe what Jakob was thinking. Maybe a different word, like perplexed, or bamboozled, but definitely not confused. Felicia had not only successfully (if considered an achievement) dyed all the extra bedding a bright shade of green, but caused the largest wall of bubbles he had ever seen that smelled of lavender. _At least nothing is on fire this time_ , Jakob thought to himself as he stood at the doorway to the laundry room. The panicked, pink-haired maid let out another flood of “I-I’m so sorry” and “I don’t even know how this happened” along with “I s-swear, I put in the r-right amount”.

“Felicia, you useless twat,” he muttered under his breath before saying in a less frustrated tone, “Calm down. Those sheets are still wet. Scrub them in soap and vinegar as if your life depended on it. And for Gods sake, the water pump is right there, you can use water to dispose of the suds.”

With tears in the corners of her eyes, she sobbed in what he presumed was a “Thank you” and she raced out of the room to locate vinegar. Knowing that she’d probably find her way into, he didn’t know, tripping down the stairs and dropping a chandelier? Bumping into and knocking over the fine china? Gods forbid, somehow managing to get her braid caught in a door… he decided it would be best if he took care of the bubbles. He took off his gauntlets before placing them far away from the suds and rolled up his sleeves.

…

A sigh left his mouth as he reached for the pocket watch once more. 3:15. A few more curses escaped from under his breath. He had managed to get the silverware polished and the dishes spotless before being called away for that shenanigan. With dinner in mind, he walked to dining room in his usual rushed, but not desperate, pace. He stopped when he heard laughter as well as praise coming from the main hall. _Sounds like her sparring when well… but the ground was still damp from a light shower early this morning and based on where they typically train…_ That meant they probably tracked in mud. All over the castle. Jakob decided to put dinner on the back burner while he went to clean after Corrin and Silas.

…

The table was set and perfect. Not a petal or plate out of place. He took a moment to admire his work, then a subtle click, glance down, a hum with approval. Jakob headed to Corrin’s study, where she relaxes after her evening bath with a book. He passed the kitchen with a smile: giving Lilith the duty of preparing dinner was absolutely the best idea of the day. The air was delightfully rich with the scent of freshly baked bread, and the stew’s aroma made the guards’ mouths water he noticed as he passed them by. He arrived at her study and gave a solid knock on the door. “Lady Corrin?”

“Come in,” she chimed back.

He promptly entered the room, closing the door behind him gently. To say her study was a mess would be a complement, for the stacks of books and papers that reached as tall as he was were numerous. She sat in her regal chair, curled with her feet behind her and leaning against one of the arm rests. The towel wrapped around her head, which she usually did to dry her long, ivory hair, was quickly coming undone and beginning to block his lady’s beautifully ruby eyes. She wore a lavender tunic that came to her mid-thigh, a white three-quarter length undershirt, and her go to casual wear, black leggings.

His eyes shift around the room; it’s not that there is no space left on the bookshelves for these tomes, but more that she would need another empty bookshelf to house all the remain books. She isn’t too picky about the genre either, as he spied books on both Nohrian and Hoshidan cultures, geography, tactics, sciences, arts, and the assorted books her siblings have sent her: Politics from Xander, history from Leo, cheesy romance from Camilla, and fairy tales from Elise. Today, however, she was reading the second book of a trilogy she fell in love with about an amnesiac who is found by a prince and work together to stop a dragon.

At last, his eyes landed on the cup of tea that was on her (surprisingly clear) desk. It sat there, untouched and cooled. “I am really terrible, Jakob. Flora dropped by and left it there, yet, I can just tell it won’t be as good as yours. You must teach me how to make it like you do one of these days.” He took this with pride and chuckled. 

“Well, milady, if I taught you that, then of what use would I be?”

“Oh hush, you do more than just make tea,” she joked. He watched her set down the book, earmarked to the page she was on, before standing up and removing the towel from her head and handed it to him. She turned her back to him, presenting him with her snow-white locks that were still slightly damp. Jakob folded the towel over his arm, opened a drawer to grab an elegant, silver brush. “Down, braided or something new, milady?”

“Down’s fine.” And like that, they relaxed. He enjoyed this time of day when she confided in him her daily victories, rants, and ideas that grew in her innocent, naïve mind. “…and I still don’t understand why I have to learn Economics or Trigonometry. Seems pointless for me to learn, I mean, when am I ever going to use them?”

“You need to have a well-rounded education, not just the things you like, milady. And at least in the case of economics, it’s important for all nobility to know how the system works so that they can strengthen and improve it.” He noticed a few spots with many knots and took note to be careful.

“And Trigonometry?” she responded, flinching as a stroke wasn’t as gentle as she had hoped.

“Well, you could apply it to many things. For example,” he broke conversation to focus on a particular rough spot, making her yelp. “Various games and tricks use angles to either make the trick seem impossible or like magic, or like you wanted to when you were younger, build a catapult to… what was it? Send you to the moon?” He teased her and reached back to the drawer to get her classic black headband. She turned to him, part habit and part to give him a look of embarrassment. While he liked to see her flustered, he knew they had places to be. Jakob gingerly set the band into place and held out his hand to help her up. Accepting his assistance, Corrin stood up, brushed herself off, and headed for the door.

They headed towards the foyer before she stopped, having a moment of revelation, “Oh! I forgot to mention. I need to get new armor. The backup replacement armor set is too dented and warped to even put on, and the extra back-up replacement set is in rough shape too.”

Knowing her armor was like her second skin, he wasn’t surprised. “Noted, milady. Will the extra set last you until the new sets come in or will I have to rush it?”

“Considering I blocked Silas’s sword and the arm guard cleanly cut in two, I’d rush it. Oh, also, can we get some in a dark blue and silver?”

“Why of course, milady. I’ll send in an order to the smith right away.”

…

“Corrin!”

Elise ran full force into her. She nuzzled into her chest and looked up with her sparkling lavender eyes. She, of course, gives her a hug back.  
“We missed you so much at the summer festival! I got you something, don’t worry.”

“I would have loved to go! I can’t wait to he- mmph!“ Corrin was in Camilla’s death hug.

“My sweet, little Corrin! You must have been so lonely up here all by yourself.”

While her arms were once peacefully hugging Elise, they now were trying to find a way to get oxygen from Camilla’s bust. A hearty chuckle came from behind the well-endowed wyvern rider.

“If you don’t let her go, you’re going to smother her,” the deep voice resonated. Camilla pulled her out of her breasts, Corrin’s face very much red and appreciative of his intrusion. “Thanks for saving me, Xander.” She walked over to him, and stared up into his umber eyes. Unlike the other three who she would regularly get visits from every three or four months, the Nohrian crown prince was a rarity.

“Glad Father allowed you to visit. I never get to see you anymore.” Corrin met him with a hug.

“Likewise, little princess.”

She looked up at his stoic, caring features, noticing slightly purple rings under his eyes. He was tired, and likely working too much like he typically did. She glanced behind him when she heard the slow clicking of boots. Leo, as per usual, walking slowly in with his head in a book. He glances up catching her eyes, and smirked.

“I hope you’ve been studying like you should, Corrin.”

“Of course, Leo. I don’t want to go through your strict teaching regimen… again. Wanna play some chess later?” She smiled back and gave him a small wave.

“I’d be delighted to beat you again,” Leo replied, cocky as usual. Corrin went to counter, but her stomach growled in protest. The heavenly smell of home cooking permeated into the foyer, causing Corrin to hold the thought.

“You guys must be exhausted. Flora and Felicia can take your bags to your rooms. Meantime, I’m starving and dinner smells wonderful… Oh and Leo?”

“Hmm?”

Corrin gestured to her neck with an apologetic look. He took a moment to look at it before blushing and followed the maids to his room to fix his collar.

The four others laughed and followed Jakob into the dining room.

…

The meal was as good as it smelled. Most had 2 or 3 servings of the stew, minus Leo who had 5, but it was a unanimous complements to the chief. During dinner, Camilla had filled Corrin in on all the latest fashions that were in Cyrkensia, which happened to be very thin, flowing dresses (if you could even call it that) and 6 inch heels (Corrin cringed). Elise, on the other hand, told her about what she’s been up to: Practicing violin, making friends, playing hide and go seek, and collecting flowers. Leo discussed philosophy and current books he’s read, offering recommendations and reviews. 

Xander called everyone’s attention with a clearing of his throat and the conversations died down. “Everyone, I have good news,” he paused, turning to Corrin, “due to your birthday coming up, Father has allowed you to join us in the main castle.” 

Camilla grabbed the middle princes and hugged her, singing praises that she’d never, ever, leave you alone again. Leo simply nodded, almost with a bit of worry in his eyes. Elise was over the moon, cheering followed by saying all the things they would get to do. 

Corrin was the happiest out of them all. No more being stuck in this cold prison! No more being shielded from, well, everything! She can go to all the places she’d only read about. She can try all those odd foods that nobody here will cook her. She could go to a Summer Festival. She could read all the books in the royal library. She could spar with Xander more often.

“We’ll set out in two days. Hopefully, that will be enough time to gather your things.”

She dismissed herself from the table and bolted to her room, packing as many things as she could. Jakob sighed. _This is going to be a long night packing all those books..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I always saw Gunter as less of a ‘caregiver’ than I saw him as ‘bodyguard’. When it came to Jakob/Gunter’s supports and Corrin/Gunter supports, it was the opposite. I guess I’m going a bit off cannon having him be more of the ‘head of security’ at the keep, but it makes more sense to me and for Silas to be there (he’s probably being trained to be his replacement).
> 
> Also, not going to lie, it might be because I really only play with the F!Corrin, but I’ve always found Felicia to be SO GOSH DARN USELESS. Even when I played M!Corrin, she would die super fast. #Jakob4life


	2. Welcome

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I posted two chapters in hopes that you'd get a better feeling of where this was going. Enjoy.

She couldn’t wait to get out of the carriage. She soaked in the sights, sounds and architecture of Castle Krakenburg. Servants took care of her bags as she was dragged away from her retainers by Elise, who enthusiastically gave her a tour of her new home. It was much noisier than her prior residence, Corrin reasoned that it was because of there being more people, but the things she paid attention too most were the intricate wall carvings, paintings, tapestries. The murals on the ceilings depicted angels and clouds bathed in holy light, the skies were a brilliant blue. Gold accented the small shapes dancing above them. _I pity the person’s neck who painted all of that, but I’ll have to find out the artist…_

Each room appeared to have a different style, yet, somehow all tied together in elegance. At last, when they reached the door leading to the throne room, Corrin paused to not only admire the carved door and casing, but to study it: It was expertly carved purpleheart in the form of a dragon; the wood’s natural coloring tied in well with the deep purple tapestries as well as the golden details on its claws and teeth; deep crimson rubies stared back at her own red eyes. The door creaked open into a large, open room, tiled floors with beautiful grays and whites with what looked like an ornate pattern formed in the center using a deep violet. A rug of high make stretched from the symbol to a throne fit for a mighty ruler, accented with a halo of ridges above the head of the king. The canopy of the royal room was held aloft by columns that reflected the draconic nature of the door, appearing to have scales and ridges rather than show an actual dragon shape. The ceiling had various claws jutting out, each holding a chandelier, however, none were as big as the one over the symbol, which was in the shape of a dragon’s maw.

At the head of this room sat the keeper of this castle himself, King Garon. Corrin couldn’t remember the last time she saw him in person. His body was a sickly, old grey but reflected still an air of combat readiness. His eyes, stern and dark, contrasted his white hair and beard. He sat patiently on the throne, black armor on and a mighty, black-steel axe glowing with a faint purple aura by his side. While his face reflected a certain calm, the man to his right did not. The tall, black and brown robed man had extraordinarily white skin and had an odd mask covering half of his face. The long, black hair was kept out of his disgruntled expression by a halo hair fixture. He fidgeted, obviously aggravated by the lack of urgency, until noticing Corrin and Elise had entered the room. Much to her surprise, Camilla, Leo, and Xander were there as well. She stood close to the stairs leading up to the throne and bowed. 

“Arise, my child. It has been long last since you came to see me. Your siblings have reported back that you have not only become strong, but also well informed.”

“Indeed Father, I wish not to fail you in anyway.”

He nodded and kept his emotionless face, his compatriot to his right still held a bit of unvoiced contempt. “Excellent, I expect nothing less. As soon as you become acclimated to your new residence, I will give you your first task. If you must contact me, either speak to your brother, Xander or my tactician, Iago,” Garon pointed with his right hand to the man standing next to him, “they both report back to me on a daily basis. I am putting Leo in charge of your studies. You are all dismissed.”

A low murmur of thanks along with a bow and the royal siblings left the king and his creepy tactician. Corrin was shown where her room was by Jakob, who was waiting right outside the throne room door. She flopped on the bed as soon as she was able to and Jakob poured her a cup of tea. “Overwhelming day, milady?”

“Extremely. This place is just so… so big! And there are so many people! Definitely more than the small town near the keep, that’s for sure.”

Jakob set the tea down on her nightstand and she sat up to grab it. “How is King Garon, if I may ask?”

“Father’s not how I would have expected, but then again, we never talked about him much. He has a really awful looking right hand man, supposedly his tactician. He fits the descriptions of what Leo has complained to me over the years. Oh, and I’m being tutored by Leo now, so that’s fun.”

“Best put down the fiction novels for now, milady,” Jakob chuckled. 

Corrin huffed, but knew he was right. She smiled and asked, “So how are you adjusting?”

Jakob rested his chin on his hand in contemplation. “Well, at lot less work for me to do in regards to being your butler seeing as I don’t have to account for everything anymore. However, I do have to… adjust to being with some… interesting people.” He hesitated in a few spots to find the proper words.

“The other retainers or the other maids and butlers?” Corrin knew he was sugar coating his words, and was interested in finding out more about her sibling’s retainers.

“Retainers. One of them with bright blue hair threatened to kill everyone if I did not bring her tea.”

Corrin laughed, but noticed no joking on Jakob’s face. Her laugh faded and ended in a cough. “Well that’s… interesting. Did you get her tea?”

“I only serve you, Lady Corrin. I told her the repercussions of her threat and she did not like the results. I did not get her tea.”

“Sometimes, I think you’re a bit too focused on me, Jakob.” She put the cup down and laid back down. 

He picked up the tea cup and put it on the tray with the tea pot. “Well, if she is one of Lord Xander’s retainers, then she should be able to brew her own cup of tea.” He picked up the tray and began to leave before asking, “Do you have any other plans for this evening, milady?”

Corrin rolled to sit up on her elbows. “After dinner I plan on checking out their library. I’ll probably be late tonight, so you don’t have to wait for me.”

With a small smile, he responded, “I’m sorry, but it is my duty to wait for you. I’ll make sure to have tea ready for you late at night.” Corrin rolled her eyes and he left the room.

…

Dinner was filling, and gave Corrin the opportunity to meet some of her sibling’s retainers. 

Arthur seemed like a hero from all the stories she read in her spare time, but with one major flaw. She was walking to the dining room using the stairs and missed a step on accident, while at the same time, a decorative suit of armor dropped a halberd to trip him. His face hitting the floor broke her fall as she landed on his back. She met Effie right after; she helped Corrin up off of Arthur and almost ripped her arm out of socket. The two seemed very nice and apologetic about the whole experience, but then again, both parties were. Corrin could see why they would be with Elise.

The next she met on the way to dinner was Laslow. He commented greatly on her beautiful hair and eyes. His offer to have tea sometime together was cut off by one of Camilla’s retainers, Selena. She pulled down his ear, causing him to hiss, and in a very annoyed tone, “Ugh! I can’t leave you alone for one second. Do you have no common sense?!” She dragged him into the dining room.

Corrin sat down with Gunter and Silas to her right and left, across from Leo and his retainers, or rather, retainer for one was missing. The one retainer that showed up was… entertaining to say the least. Odin- or Odin Dark, the Chosen One as he often referred to himself- talked a mile a minute using the most fantastic words. While Corrin could somewhat interpreted his epics, Silas was stunned into silence and needing a translation. By the end of his tales of his amazing exploits, Leo gave the abridged version, which turned out not to be that entertaining at all. She asked Leo why his other retainer wasn’t there, and simply shrugged, saying that he wasn’t back from an assignment. 

There was a bit of a ruckus near Xander’s seats, including crying, plenty of blood curdling shrieks, and happy giggling. The cyan and pink haired girl next to Xander seemed to be the cause, and likely the same one Jakob was talking about earlier. The others, minus her retainers, did not seem to bat an eye at her behavior. Camilla chimed that it always happened, and that there was no use changing it. 

The exact opposite of Peri and Odin was Beruka, who silently ate her meal in peace. Oddly, Garon and his advisor Iago were both absent as well, but Elise explained that they typically don’t eat with them anyway.

Dinner ended and Corrin wandered through the castle, getting lost a few times and turned around more times than not, before finally reaching the library. She was dazzled at the sheer volume of books that they housed. Books that she’s been dying to read and heard wonderful things about from Leo. Taking some time to look over the inventory, she slowly but surely compiled a stack of books and tomes she wanted to read most. The reading nook she found was perfect; she could see both entrances into the library, it had a table of the perfect height, a heavenly chair to rest in, optimal lighting at night, and during the day, it overlooked the courtyard. She let out a relaxed sigh as she curled up with a book.

One book became two, became three. She yawned and looked up at a grandfather clock, 3:52. She rolled her eyes and groaned, not believing she stayed up that late. The only other person who came in after Leo did around 11 was Jakob, dropping off a freshly brewed pot of tea around 1. She was happy she wasn’t disturbed too often, and now knew why Leo found this place to be his favorite room. The silence of the library ended with the sounds of a door being opened, but she couldn’t hear the person’s footsteps. 

He held back a chuckle when he saw her, and walked towards her with his typical saunter. He was darker skinned than most people- no, everyone- who worked in the castle and had hair as white as snow. His well-loved, faded blue cloak complemented his bright blue eye… not eyes, catching Corrin off guard when she spotted the black eye patch. 

“My, my. The little caged princess is up pretty late and all alone. Waiting for me?” his sultry voice made Corrin jump.

“W-who are you? You have some nerve talking to me like that… t-thief,” Corrin tried to bluff. This only made the man laugh, and stop five feet in front of her. He crossed his arms and smirked.

“Thief? Well, you aren’t too far from the mark. Just you don’t know the lion’s den you just walked into. Need me to show you?” He leaned over the table towards her. Corrin’s heart was pounding a mile a minute, and she turned away not to face the mysterious man, but was stopped. He grabbed her chin with a calloused hand, obviously from the use of the bow he still carried, and turned her to look into his eye.

“Lady Corrin, this place is not as safe. The walls are often watching, listening, and gossiping. Nothing is ever as it seems,” his voice never wavered giving the warning.

Corrin flinched as he rose his other hand, anticipating him to hold her down and do terrible things, but it never came. He reached over to the small indent in the wall from the nook and pulled on something. A secret door shifted open and revealed a hidden stash of books, lamp oil, and miscellaneous items. The ‘thief’ grabbed two of the older, worn out tomes before closing the compartment. He turned to leave, but not without laughing, “Lady Camilla would surely kill me if I harmed her little sister, and I’m not in the mood to lose both of my heads. Best you keep that spot secret, milady; Lord Leo has many ‘fond’ memories related to it and would hate for anyone else to know. Hope to chat with you again.”

She watched the man walk out of the library, leaving with a slight wave over his shoulder. Flabbergasted, Corrin couldn’t make heads or tails of the situation but knew one thing: She did not like him, not one bit.

…

_Earlier that night._

“...So do we have any leads?”

“None! Absolutely nada! Great… if _she_ were here instead of there, I bet _she’d_ have it done in no time.”

“Fear cast not a shadow on us, my friends! United, we may not all be, but of us, sleuthing out the displaced mechanism shall be swift and just!”

“Ugh, must you always speak like that?”

“Well, I’m afraid that’s half the problem. There’s also the discrepancies in the reels to worry about.”

“And did you get a chance to see Lady Corrin’s retainer? They just give me the chills.”

“The blackest of auras encases them like a crippling miasma!”

“But they aren’t the mission. We can put that on the back burner. Right now we have to focus on the mission: Get back the scythe and find out the cause of the edits.”

“They’re still suspicious!” 

“Our graceful-footed, azure friend is right. The quest awaits us!”

The three then departed within the blink of an eye. A fourth figure steps out from behind the shadows, and hummed, processing the detail recently gathered. He calmly pondered the information while staring up at the moon, taking a break from his nightly travels. But he knew he had places to go and a lord to inform, so he quickly faded back into the shade.

…

The next morning, she made her way to the library to study with Leo. She found him at the same reading nook she was sitting at the night prior, except with a visitor. She marched up to the blue-coated man, “What are you doing here?! I thought you took what you needed and escaped. And now your-”

Leo sat there blinking at Corrin before cutting her off with a hand wave. He face palmed and started, “Oh, so _that’s_ what you meant by you ‘ran into someone and had a chat’ last night. Niles, please refrain from teasing my sister; she’s new and I’d rather have her here than in that keep.”

“I will restrain myself next time, milord.”

“Wait… you know him, Leo?”

Leo let out a frustrated groan and looked up at his retainer sternly. “How rude of you. You didn’t even introduce yourself. This is Niles, the missing retainer from dinner yesterday. He had just gotten back gathering information in Cheve.”

“At 4 in the morning?”

“Well, I am very much a man of the night, milady. And it’s not like I was going to sleep anyway.”

Corrin sat down in the chair across from Leo, shaking her head. “... you have a weird retainers, Leo.”

He leaned back in his chair with a smug expression, “They may be weird, but they wouldn’t be mine if they were normal.”

...

Within the next few days, Corrin got into the swing of things and got the routes to each room down pat. Tutoring with Leo honed her subjects she struggled in: Math and Physics. Afternoons, she’d take rides around and into town with Elise, enjoying the time below the main streets of Windmire where most of the activity was. It interested her why most of the people didn’t live above, but she never questioned it. At night, Camilla played dress up with her, having her try all sorts of different dresses, make-up, hair styles, and so forth. Niles would still tease and bother her from time to time, and would often get caught and almost turned into a pincushion by Jakob.

Jakob, on the other hand, had mastered the game of ‘Hide-and-Go-Work’ when playing with Elise, who insisted that he ‘needed to get in touch with his inner child’. Corrin thought it was a hoot. Peri and him ended up settling their differences over cooking meals, unlike Felicia who impressed her with her combat reflexes because Peri’s former servants couldn’t fight back like her. Silas trained long and hard with Effie and occasionally Laslow, both turning out to be much more skilled and talented than him. 

Everything seemed unlike the warning Niles had given her the first night until Leo stormed into the library one session. He let out an aggravated huff before slumping into his comfy chair and rubbing his eyes. 

“So what happened? You might as well tell me,” Corrin spoke up.

Leo paused and turned red. Apparently, he hadn’t noticed her presence. He sat up and coughed, “Erm… Advanced magic with Iago. I swear, sometimes I feel like he’s seeing me with contempt, other times he’s using incredibly powerful spells against me just to injure and vent out his rage. It's not that I can't handle it, but more of the potential to kill me is far greater than it should be.”

Corrin blushed, “T-that’s a predicament. But you can’t be serious about that… after all, he is an adviser to Father…”

Leo sighed, “I wish I was. How Father could even choose a man like that to be his adviser, only the Gods know.”

There was a brief dead silence before Leo opened a tome and began with Corrin’s tutoring. They went on for a few hours before a messenger sent Corrin and Leo a summons from King Garon. The two sighed and accepted, got up, and walked there together. They were met by the rest of their family and entered. Garon met them with a nod, and boomed, “I believe you have adjusted well here, Corrin, so it is time for you to prove your worth. Do you accept?”

“Of course Father, anything for you.”

“Good. As you may know, we have been in a deadlock with Hoshido for quite some time. With the constant drought, we are in need of Hoshido’s trade. To help with the talks, you will be delivering an token as a sign of peace along with your retainers.”

Xander’s brows scrunched more than usual at this, and Leo shifted his weight carefully. Something didn’t sit right with them, and Corrin could sense it. But to turn this mission down because of uncertainty wouldn’t be proper. She nervously smiled and nodded. 

“My adviser Iago will give you the gift tomorrow morning before you set out.”

Camilla and Leo flinched and Xander shot them a glare. Corrin was now understanding Niles’s warning a little bit; Iago was bad news for everyone. A sinister grin crept across his face when he noted the two royals’ reactions. He looked at Corrin and she shivered.

“We expect word in two weeks. Suit yourself with the best gear from the armory. Everyone is dismissed.”

...

Corrin packed her bags and sighed. She had just gotten to come to the castle, and now she was being sent away. Camilla had told her to stay safe and not do anything too reckless. Elise gave her extra Elixirs and Concoctions just in case and to bring her back a present from the Hoshidan Capital. The wagon was loaded, and the guards carried out a large, wooden chest of high quality, the presumed offering. 

Iago was barking orders for the gift to be treated with utmost care for it was extremely fragile, calling out to the ‘buffoons’ who ‘lazily’ threw it up onto the back of the wagon. He outstretched a weak hand to Corrin, who reluctantly shook the clammy hand. The sorcerer leaned forward closer to her and whispered, “Lady Corrin, remember. This is a highly sensitive present. Make sure it gets delivered, for the good of Nohr.” 

His snicker repulsed her, but she looked him right in the eyes, “Don’t worry, I’ll be sure to deliver it safe and sound. For the people of Nohr.”

Iago let her hand go and quickly made his way back indoors. Corrin, Silas, Jakob, Felicia, and Gunter waved back to Camilla and Elise as they left. The two princes watched on from a window above. Leo day dreamed out the window as Xander reviewed over paperwork: lists, documents, letters, and orders. He inquired, “...So with Baron Tolbert and Count Lum, how many more nobles do you suggest we getting involved?”

“We already have one of the factions in Cheve on our side, so we won’t need much more support. Two or three more nobles if possible. We’ll probably be able to act within the next two months.”

Xander nodded, “Good… We must succeed before that monster forces us to war.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Screw the game’s description of the castle, I imagine it would be more like a standard European castle. Not some spooky villainous lair bull deep under ground. In addition, screw the game’s logic in Conquest; I’m having the Nohrian family already trying to stage a coup against Garon because even Xander should be able to see that his father has changed for the worse.


	3. Pandora's Box

Chapter 3: Pandora’s Box

Traveling for three days was an eye opening experience to the hardships that plagued her country, as well as to the beauty that it once held. Further from Windmire they went, the more in ruins the villages were, the more bandits they encountered, and the more dying fields of wheat and cabbage they passed. Corrin saw how important this trade deal would be in restoring the Nohrian commonwealth. How much they needed their food, their support, their agricultural wisdom… but things didn’t sit right.

Several things were not making sense. For starters, why did Father send her of all people: The lonely princess who spent most of her life in a keep far from the capital and unknown to most of the population? Second, from the sights she had passed the hardships have been around for quite a while, so why was he asking for help now? And finally, something just didn’t feel right in her gut. Maybe it’s been all the excitement of finally getting to explore the countryside. Maybe she just wasn’t use to living on the road and all of its ‘features’. Or maybe it was the thought of that freak Iago doing something to curse this box, its opener, the opener’s family and friends, _and_ its sender. It was probably the combination of those reasons Corrin decided to investigate the ‘peace offering’.

She started with the non-invasive, yet still informative, features of the chest. Based on the sturdiness and stain of the wood, she could tell that it was from the Woods of Forlorn, the native tree’s heartwood to be specific. It had a bright, light red inlay of juniper (likely from the mountains close to the Ice Tribe), which formed an ornate pattern of little to no importance. She could tell the box was handcrafted by a skilled craftsman, seeing how the corners were perfectly dovetailed and the lid seemed seem-less. However, nothing lent even an inkling to what was being housed inside this pretty, little, possible death trap.

Corrin was far from giving up. The weight of the box alone was enough to keep going on. It was heavy, granted that the chest wouldn’t be light on its own either, but it was beyond compare. Even Silas, the young and strong cavalier that he is, quickly got tired carrying by hand. Shaking it didn’t provide much more information other than whatever was in there, it was packed to the brim.

She wasn’t the only one worried about this mysterious package. Jakob had voiced his concerns and thoughts early on in this endeavor, but had a similar curiosity towards it like Corrin did. Silas and Felicia became paranoid and wanted to stay as far from the box as possible. Gunter, true to his nature and experience, wasn’t afraid of this ‘voodoo bullshit’ and was deemed the box carrier (‘doom carrier’ Silas coined) for the duration of the trip.

…

It was their midday break about half a day’s ride out from the Bottomless Canyon when the thirst for knowledge overcame her. She had to know what was in the box, and she wasn’t going to take no as an answer. Gunter chuckled and said to go right on ahead. Silas and Felicia both panicked and begged her not to open it, listing a long range of plausible things that could happen to downright ridiculous. However, unlike Felicia who was just rambling off the possibilities, Silas gave possible other routes of what to do with this cursed present, like throwing it into a fire or down the canyon. She turned to Jakob with a meek smile. He let out a sigh, “As you wish, milady. I will assist you in the unraveling of this mystery.”

Seeing that they couldn’t go against their friend’s wishes, Silas requested that they be at least quite a distance away from camp to protect innocent parties. _The polite way of saying “If you get cursed for all eternity, your fucked and we aren’t.” Way to throw your best friend under the carriage, Silas,_ Corrin translated his statement. The two trudged off into the woods for a good bit, occasionally turning around to see if they could see the smoke from Gunter’s fire and to place a marker of how to get back, before stopping in a small clearing.

Putting the box down, Jakob panted, “Now, how do you want this opened, milady?” 

Corrin looked up, confused. “I thought I would do the honors.”

A disgruntled look flashed on his face before his rebuttal. “I’m sorry milady, but I cannot let you do that. Gods only know what that twisted, half-masked bastard did to this chest. I cannot let you take that risk.”

She rolled her eyes. “Come on, Jakob. Please?”

Normally, she’d get him to take a breath, look into her adorable red eyes, and grit his teeth before caving in.

“No.” Without skipping a beat and bypassed the formalities.

“Jakob-“she tried to brush past him, but the tight grip of the black steel gauntlets on her shoulders said otherwise. She looked back up at him, and for a moment, it almost seemed like there was more presence to him.

“No.” His violet eyes burned into her. She hesitated. All the years she’d known him, he’d been stern and strict to her before, but not with this amount of worry in his voice. Realizing the gravity of the situation, she swallowed her eagerness and nodded silently. She stepped back a bit to get behind him as he cut the cloth bindings (Felicia’s request) that held it closed. She heard him take a deep breath before she heard small click. She couldn’t remember what happened next clearly, but she could make out is this: Jakob yelling her name, and a high-pitched ringing in her ears.

…

The force from the blast was more than he anticipated. However, he had a strong inkling that it would be a bomb nonetheless. It had been a while since the last time he had pieces of Gods know what sticking out of him like he was a dart board. Couldn’t say he’s missed it. Rather than dealing with his own pain- well, more like discomfort- he limped his way to Corrin. She had been spared from most of the shrapnel, unlike himself, but she was unconscious. The culprit: a fairly large rock near the fairly large gash on the back of her head (no broken skull, thank Gods), dying her pure hair a shade of crimson. Knowing all his resources were likely compromised, he reached into her small bag hoping to find an unbroken Elixir or Concoction or something. He smiled, noting that he would have to thank Elise when he got back. He tore off the gauntlets, carefully dragged her to a nearby tree to prop her up, and poured the medicinal mixture onto the wound. The movement caused her to stir and a groan from the sting of the Elixir hitting her scalp.

His eyes constantly bouncing between the back of her head to check healing progress and her front to make sure she’s still breathing and-or waking up.

“Corrin, you’re going to be ok.” He had probably already said that line at least a dozen times, in addition to the variations of it and just saying her name alone.

When the wound behind her head successfully formed a temporary scab, he sighed relief. Her eyes reluctantly opened, clearly in a daze. She stared at Jakob, he presumed having difficulty focusing at his face, before mouthing ‘Jakob’.

“Yes, milady, I’m fine. You’ll be alright too, just relax until the others arrive.”

A dazed and confused look shown on her face and she slowly started to reach for her ears and the back of her head. He gently stopped her and noticed the blood slowly dripping from her ears. _Of course. The one time Felicia would actually useful._ He patted the back of his head to show her where she’d been injured and returned his hands to her shoulders to help keep her calm. The confusion is replaced by small relief, then by worry as she scanned his body. Her already pale face lost the little color that came back as she focused on his chest. He swallowed and looked down. _I should have removed those first._

Some of the box’s exterior evaporated as the explosion occurred, however, other parts seemed to remain not only intact, but also spear like. A large chunk was buried deep in his stomach, while a smaller, thinner piece found its new home where he presumed his lung would be. This would explain his discomfort. She began to shake in his hands, and despite his best attempts to redirect her focus, she was already a silent, screaming, sobbing mess.

He sighed and heard hoofs close. He stood up slowly, noted the few other larger bits that were embedded into his thigh, and took off his coat to cover Corrin. “How irksome. Best remove them before they find out too.” Without a second thought, he began to pull out the biggest pieces of that damned box he could find. He threw the box bits somewhere that Gunter wouldn’t look. The gaping holes in his chest and leg were non-existent by the time his compatriots arrived.

“Lady Corrin, answer me!” Gunter roared at the top of his voice. The veteran great knight was the first to charge into the clearing, followed closely by Silas, who in similar suit, called out for Corrin. The third, still not use to riding on a horse, let alone leading two more with her, stumbled close behind. Never was he happier to see that incompetent idiot. “Felicia!” He called out, waving a hand in the air.

She jumps off the horse and sprints to where he’s waving. She is surprisingly calm on the battlefield and in emergency situations, he’d grant her that. However, he could still tell there was some form of panic bubbling within her. “W-where?”

“Back of her head, nasty gash, as well as her eardrums. Rest is mostly superficial, but she’s gone into shock.” He gets up, letting her have her space. Felicia nods, staff in hand, and gets to work.

Jakob paced towards Gunter slowly, staring upward and rubbing his eyes all the while. He stops, and lets out a laugh that morphed into an unsettling cackle. Silas, unknowing of the whole situation, is disturbed. Gunter, having gone through many years of combat, understood. At last, Jakob takes a deep breath, with a few trace chuckles in his system, lets out a deep sigh.

“That fucking monster sent us with a bomb.”

Gunter uses the moment place pieces together. Silas uses it to process what Jakob just announced.

The three drift closer to where Felicia is, slowly and in silence. She meets them a few feet away from where Corrin is resting. “L-lady Corrin will be fine. She’s stable and can be moved, however, I don’t r-recommend she be alone in the saddle. We should find suitable lodging soon.”

Gunter nodded and turned around to get the three horses in the clearing. Silas slid off of his horse to go check on Corrin. Jakob noticed Felicia’s attention turn to him with worry. “I… I’m fine, Felicia, thank you. I’ll see to it that she rides with me.”

Honestly, Jakob didn’t know the kid had it in him because Silas snapped. He jerked around, marched straight back to him, and grabbed him by the collar. “Oh because we all know how well this time ended when you two did something. Riddle me this, Jakob. Why is she hurt more than you? You are her retainer for Gods fucking sake. Why didn’t you heal her? We all know you have just as much ability to do it as Felicia can. You had to go with her to open that fucking box. You son of a-“

Silas halts his anger when he realizes Jakob has a dagger position where if he leans further in, it will puncture his abdomen. Silas releases his collar. Jakob removes the dagger. The two glare at each other in silence. Felicia and Gunter, wasting no time, have already situated Corrin with him. “Quit your bitchin’ about coulda-woulda-shoulda’s, boys. We need to move. Now.”

…

It didn’t take them long to find a nearby village. Or at least, what remained of one. The area had been prone to serious drought and in recent years, attacks from the monsters they called Faceless. Seeing the small, isolated villages abandoned wasn’t that rare of an occurrence. To find one this freshly abandoned, however, they really must have had the devil’s luck. Silas and Jakob searched, cleared, and found a suitable place to let Corrin rest. Before setting her down, Gunter gave it one last look around before laying her down on the well-used cot in the back room. Felicia brought a stool to her bedside to watch over her. The two boys waited in the main room silently: Jakob leaning against the sturdy but crudely built table, while Silas sat against the wall. Gunter nodded to Jakob, and left to check the perimeter. _Freshly abandoned places are that way for a reason,_ he reasoned.

Silas is the first to break the silence. “Jakob… I-I’m sorry. I know you did you’re damnedest to protect her more than anyone. I had no grounds to say any of that to you. And-“

“Say no more, Silas. You were right with the idea of throwing it down the canyon. And you were also right about me having to go with her to open the box,” Jakob interrupts his apology, “Because we all knew in the back of our minds that if we didn’t get to the bottom of it before arriving, we’d likely start a war between our country and theirs.”

Silas swallowed hard at the thought of that occurring and looked to the floor. Jakob picked up one of the poorly made wooden bowls that was left behind and began to smooth the edges with his knife. They pass the remaining time in silence until Gunter returned, not only with the all clear, but with firewood for the small fireplace. Felicia, with a small door creak, closed the door behind her as she entered back into the main room. She looked up and gave a weak smile and nod. There was a collective sigh of relief around the room.

…

With the day’s rations cooked, eaten, and cleaned, they gathered around the crude table that stood in the center of the room. They needed a plan. They obviously couldn’t go to Hoshido, because if they did, they’d let Iago spin it into a ‘they are holding our princess hostage’ situation. Likewise, returning home wasn’t an option because that monster would know that they opened it early and failed his assassination attempt on Lady Mikoto and likely her entire family, disregarding Corrin’s life. In addition to that, returning early would show a failure to Garon, likely forcing Corrin to be sent back to the keep to live out her days.

Silas visibly unsettled by the next conclusion they came up with: Telling Xander what happened wouldn’t be a good plan. “Why wouldn’t it be?! He’s there. He has political power. And hell, he probably has more sway with his father than that bastard does.”

“I somehow doubt that,” muttered the elder of the group. “Telling Xander to take action right now would be like setting off a firecracker in a bookstore. We don’t want Nohr crumbling from the inside out when it’s fraying at the seams already. It would be much wiser to inform Leo, however, he wouldn’t be able to directly help either.”

“S-So why don’t we ask Camilla or Elise?”

The two men paused a moment, then looked up in with renewed vigor. “Brilliant idea, Felica! They go out and buy things all the time, so they wouldn’t catch his attention if they left for a little bit,” Silas cheered.

“Sorry to rain on the parade, but who would send the letter in? He knows our faces, names, occupations, and everything, so unless we find an illusionist, I don’t think that will work,” Jakob countered, who has moved on from repairing the crummy wooden bowls to the crummy wooden glasses.

“W-well, I mean, what about the Northern Keep? It wouldn’t be odd, e-especially after she just moved to the castle, t-to have left somethings to pick up at a later date. We could send it through Flora.”

“However, I would still recommend that the letter be sent to Leo. And in some sort of code.”

The three other parties agreed to Gunter’s amendment to the plan. Silas and Felicia were pleased and hopeful; Jakob and Gunter less so, but willing to try.  
An hour passed and letter was complete. It was written by Felicia, whose handwriting looked exact to Flora’s to the untrained eye, and their true message hidden thanks to both Gunter’s and Jakob’s wealth of all things Corrin enjoys. By now, the sun had long set and many of the natural noises of the night had replaced the chirping birds. The watch rotation was decided, despite Silas’s complaints.

“Wait, why am I the only one who doesn’t have a watch?”

“Because, kid,” Gunter chuckled, handing him the letter and giving him a pat on the back, “you’re leaving. Now.”

“You got to be- It’s too dark out. No way would anyone sensible would ride right now. Not to mention the possible Faceless around. And why does it have to be me? I want to stay wi-“ A slap cut off the young soldier’s rant.

“Kid. We aren’t exactly ‘sane’ or ‘sensible’ right now. Besides, it’s a full moon out tonight with relatively clear skies; you’ll be able to see a full 50 lengths in front with those young eyes. You’re a good fighter and one of the fastest riders I’ve worked with, Gods be damned. If anyone can get that letter to Northern Keep the fastest, it’s you.”

He rubbed his sore cheek, and took the letter. “For Corrin.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I probably exaggerated his sight, but I don't care too much to change it or look it up.


	4. Something Old, Something New

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, we have a demon. Jakob does bend out of character when he's being up front about being a demon, and uses the facade that we all know when being 'human'. Just wanted to give you guys a heads up and an up front explanation.

Chapter 4: Something Old, Something New

_What was once hazy is now crystal clear._

_She saw the man in green, wielding two, thin swords fall to his knees. Several arrows lodged in his body, and he took two more before finally falling over. She heard a young girl crying, screaming for her father. It’s her voice. Her beautiful, pink yukata forever stained with speckles of red blood. And the man with the rag took the spot he always does in her nightmares. The rag pulled over her mouth. Her vision faded._

_She’s awake again. Cold. Tired. Pain shooting up her limbs as she tried to shift her weight. Hungry, no, ravenous. The pink yukata is gone, replaced with something that would fail to even resemble a dress if it wasn’t currently being used as that. She heard men laughing, swearing, slurring. The faintest whimper she let out caught two of their attention, and they approached the cage she’s confined to._

_“Quite, bitch!” A swift kick to the cage flipped it over. She let out a sobbing plea to stop and let her out. The one who didn’t kick stepped forward and leaned down close to her. “Let me tell you something. You’re only alive because we want to have some fun with you before we slit your tiny throat. The Gods may be the only ones that hear your sorry ass crying, but even they won’t even bother to save you. But don’t worry, you’ll be joining your pa real soon.”_

_He spit in her face before walking back to the circle, having a deep laugh with the other who came. She prayed. She prayed her damnedest. She prayed to every god she knew. All of them. Someone. Anyone._

_**Anyone, you dare say?** _

_She shivered when she heard the voice. But determined not to die like this, she answered quiet enough to not be caught by the drunkards. “Yes. Anyone.”_

_**Aren’t we brave. You’ve gotten stuck in a terrible place. I can help you out, my dear.** _

_She swallowed hard. “W-Who are you and what do you need, Mr. Angel?”_

_**Hahaha… you’re cute. I have gone by many names and have been called many things, but that would have to be the first ‘Mr. Angel’. All I need is your wish, your command, and something… close to you. Irreplaceable and essential, really. But you interest me, so I won’t be taking payment right away.** _

_She shifted uneasily in the cramped space. This was indeed no angel she was talking to, which only left the other option. The only option. “S-so you want my life as payment, r-right?”_

_**Courageous and knowledgeable. For your age, at least.** _

_The voice let out a low chuckle. She felt somewhat relaxed by this voice. Like she could trust it. Despite it confirming that it’s going to take her life at some point. She took a deep breath. “I… I want to avenge my father’s death, but I also want to find out why they did it. I also want you to protect me. Please...”_

_**Very good. Now, repeat these words to seal the pact.** _

_The men have gotten riled up from the celebratory drinking and have headed towards her. She could see the low glow of candlelight reflect off the steel of their blades. Her heart is beating a mile a minute as she found the voice to scream._

_“I, KAMUI, MAKE A PACT WITH YOU. PLEASE, SAVE ME.”_

...

She sat up, gasping for air. Those weren’t her normal nightmares. They were crisp, like they had happened just yesterday. But was any of it… real? She shivered at the thought. Perhaps they were her missing memories. The ones she had lost before the ones from Northern Keep started. _But where is that voice now?_

She reflected on it for a moment before realizing that she wasn’t in her room at Northern Keep. Or the castle for that matter. An unfamiliar room that smelled of dirt and dust. Her head was pounding and everything ached. Her dry throat longed to be squelched. Her stomach roared. _What the hell did we… wait. The chest? What the hell was in the chest??_

She, unsuccessfully, tried to stand, but her knees gave out from under her. She heard movement from the other room and the door creak open. She braced for the worst, but was pleasantly surprised. “Oh my Gods, Lady Corrin! You’re awake! Thank Gods!” Her pink-haired friend stumbled to hug her and let out a happy sob.

“H-Hey, wai- OW! Felicia. Please.”

Corrin wrapped her arms around her bawling maid to calm her down. When Felicia finally regained enough composure, she leaned back to face her, staring into Corrin’s tired eyes. “Y-you’ve been out for two days.”

“Two days…” Corrin muttered, staring blankly into space. “How did… Why does… Fuck. Where is that stupid box?”

Felicia paled and took a breath. “It was a bomb. Y-you were thrown and hit your head.”

Corrin froze. Tears filled the corners of her ruby red eyes. “…J-Jakob?”

Felicia, confused at first but then realized you thought the worst, smiled. “He’s fine, amazing enough. He’s out gathering firewood and making sure we’re safe. Gunter’s doing the same. Silas left to deliver a message to Flora and will hopefully be back with help within a few days.” She hugged Corrin again, giving a comforting pat on her back.

Corrin was still teary, but at least she knew everyone was alright. And that her suspicions were correct from the start: Iago, and possible to some extent her father, wanted to cause war between Nohr and Hoshido. _But what good does war bring them?_

Felicia helped her get back onto the bed and hurried to get food and water for her. She was at a loss trying to figure out the connection, but at least it’s a start on why. _Wait. Why what?_ That question rattled and racked her brain. What connection and with whom? And… _…who’s Kamui?_ She nursed the chilled water and nibbled on the slightly stale bread that Felicia had provided as she tried once again to make sense of those ‘memories’.

The peace was shattered by a distant low moan. Both of them froze. “Felicia, what was…?” Corrin whispered but it fell on deaf ears. Felicia had quickly grabbed the pitchfork off the wall and placed it near Corrin. “Use it if they get in. I’ll check out front.”

The frosty servant darted to the front door, grabbing her knives on the way out. Corrin took that as a bad sign. She waited as she was told to, trying to assess a plan of action. That’s when she heard metal hitting metal, followed by several thuds of something heavy pounding away at the ground. The low moan and turned into a muffled roar as if frustrated. Something was attacking them. Something big. And Felicia was alone attacking whatever the hell it was. She wasn’t going to risk losing another one of her friends.

It took all the strength she could muster standing, let alone fighting or running or dodging. She wobbled through the main room to the front, peeking around the corner to get a glimpse of what Felicia was- _Oh dear Gods, what the hell is that fucking abomination?_

It was huge, ripped, and… green. A dark, sickly green. Bands of metal and a black leather wrap and, for lack of a better term, clothe this behemoth. Large, thick, iron shackles adorn its arms, the chains off of them look as if it was forcibly torn open. A mask, pitted like the gladiatorial masks she read about, covered what she would assume a revoltingly grotesque face. It was slow moving compared to Felicia’s quick kiting maneuvers. She wasn’t the strongest when it came to her retainers, but she had some experience and elegance in combat. However, she stumbled one of her dance-like attacks and let out a yelp as the chains struck her. She shuffled back a bit, dazed, but snapped out of it in time to sidestep its massive fist. Not letting the moment go to waste, she dashed behind the monster and embedded her knives deep into its back. It let out a pained roar before falling over. No movement is seen from the hideous thing. Felicia, out of breath, smiled and did a small cheer before looking back at their temporary camp.

“Lady Corrin, you shouldn’t be out here! It’s much too dangerous, and you’re much to-“

“FELICIA, MOVE!” She yelled and with all her might, charged towards her. Felicia shuffled to the right as Corrin rammed the once toppled creature in the throat with the pitch fork. The monster gurgled, before going limp and turning into a fine ash that blew away in the wind. Felicia went pale and weakly smiled. “T-thank you, m-milady.”

Corrin wobbled back up, easier with the adrenaline in her system, and walked back into the shelter with Felicia. Corrin sat on one of the wooden stools and rested her elbows on the table, head in her hands. “What in the Gods names was that monstrosity? Why is this town deserted?”

“They, uh… well, they’re –“

The front door burst open. Gunter, weapons at the ready, “Are you alright? I heard yelli- Milady, you’re finally awake. Good to see you are better!”

“Gunter. What the hell are those decaying freaks with the metal masks?”

He sighed. “Those would be Faceless, Lady Corrin. They wouldn’t have appeared in your books because they didn’t exist until a few years ago. No one knows how, why, or where they came from, but we do know is that they attack anything that moves that isn’t one of them.”

Corrin paused to soak in the information.

“Many small places such as this can’t survive the droughts and the frequent attacks, so they’ve become abandoned.”

“If they’re that much of an issue, why hasn’t… ugh.” The throbbing in her head was like a hammer on her skull. She cringed, grabbing her head. Gunter quickly grabbed the pitcher and poured her a cup of water. Felicia grabbed her staff and a green glow enveloped it. Corrin’s pulsing pain is soothed, and she lowered one hand to grab the glass. She downed the water, not as cool as the one Felicia gave her earlier, and nodded to both of them. Gunter, having been with her the longest ad being able to read her health, walked to her side before picking her up off the stool, taking her back to the straw-filled cot. She’s shocked at first, but didn’t resist, considering she knew she didn’t have the strength right now to even stand.

“Get some rest, now. We’ve got your back.”

...

Corrin yawned, sitting up on her elbows. She felt much better than she did last time she was awake. She took a deep breath and relaxed. Something still felt… odd though. Not because she didn’t have any nightmares, much to her delight, but something else. She couldn’t put her finger on it. She heard the sound of wood being shaved from the other room. “Hello?”

The shaving stopped immediately and the door quickly opened. “Good afternoon, milady,” Jakob entered, and his appearance surprised her. The normally perfect example of the perfect butler was without a coat and covered in dirt and stains. His orderly hair was pretty well messed. Despite all this, he seemed unaffected by the explosive he took a direct hit from; even surviving it from his proximity would have been classified a miracle. “I do apologize for not having any tea prepared, but we are close to running out of water at the moment.”

“I-It’s fine, Jakob. Considering the circumstances.” She eyes drifted away from him. “Are you ok?”

“Never better as long as you are alright, milady.” He moved behind her, brush in hand, and started to work on her slightly more eggshell colored, but beautiful none the less, hair.

“I’m sorry for letting my curiosity get the better of me. I should have listened to Silas and just gotten rid of it a different way. Because of me…”

“Lady Corrin, we don’t blame you. And I certainly don’t hold any harsh feelings over what happened. As your retainer, I swore to place your well-being above my own and always protect you.”

Something about his words echoed in her mind. The sense of something out of place has grown since Jakob entered the room, and it’s almost suffocating. Then, something clicked into place in her mind. He just finished braiding her hair (makes it easier to keep out of the way) when she asked the question.

“Jakob, who are you?”

“I beg your pardon, milady?”

“Who are you?”

“Lady Corrin, I am your butler, your retainer, your-“

“No. You’re different now, or maybe I just noticed it. You should be in bits and pieces from the bomb, but you aren’t. There’s not a scratch on you. So like I said, who are you?”

Jakob placed the brush on the nightstand and made his way to the wooden stool. He was quiet for a few moments, sitting with his resting, emotionless face. He then let out a low chuckle and smirked.

“It’s about time you remembered, my dear. I act pretty well, don’t I?”

She’s shocked and quickly pulled the blankets closer to her and scooted as far away as possible from him.

“Now what happened to the brave little one who talked to me before?”

“What the hell are you?”

“Oh, that’s right, she grew up and now wants all the answers. I’ve been called many things over the years. Some have held me as an alchemist who got too damn smart for his own good, others have called me a genie, while others were blind enough to praise me as a guardian angel. However, the most common, and most accurate, term would be a demon, my dear.”

“Right. Now let’s go back to my original question: Who are you?”

“Simply put, I have no true name for it’s been long lost over the centuries.”

“Then why do you go by Jakob now? Was he one of your prior souls you ate?”

“No, actually. Truth be told, I stole his likeness and name when I found his corpse in some Gods forsaken shack. He actually was a noble whose parents’ couldn’t comprehend, let alone apply, the word love. He was ignored to the point that when he was kidnapped for ransom, his parents never broke a sweat trying to find him. Such a pitiful life. But it provided me with the means to get closer to you in a human form, which is necessary.”

She flinched at his lack of emotion or decency toward that poor soul. She was scared, but more than that, she was angry.

“You heartless bastard. And you didn’t even help him?! What the hell is-“

“We demons lack emotions, so being a heartless bastard comes with the territory, I’m afraid. And as for the original Jakob: He never asked. And isn’t that a saying somewhere? Ask and ye shall receive?”

She shifted her weight. She felt confused and betrayed by the man she was closest with for the 10 years she has known him.

“Leave. I never want to see you again. How do I cancel the contract?”

“Hmph. I expected more from you, but I’m not surprised. The human heart always did get the deepest cuts from betrayal, or to what they assume is it. I don’t think you’ll want to cancel the contract though. Not if you want to find out what happened to your father. Or live, for that mat-“

“What?”

“I’ve already done a lot on my part of the contract in protecting you. Definitely enough to savor your soul if you choose to break the deal.” He licks his lips imagining the taste. “Despite being so young, your soul has aged like a wonderful wine.”

She couldn’t even look at him anymore and burrowed into her blankets, wishing for this nightmare to end.

_**Pray your hardest, my dear, but even the Gods can’t help you now.** _

She curled up into a ball, sobbing while she rocked back and forth. She couldn’t believe this is happening, or happened, or whenever the hell it was. A hand rested on her shoulder and gently pulled her close. She knew it’s this… fake? This phony? This…?

_**Joker sounds best in my opinion.** _

…right. This joker that is currently hugging her and gently petting her hair like her Jakob did before everything went to hell. But she couldn’t resist him. She let out several sobs into his chest.

“I may have tormented you a bit too far, though I get the most amusement from your flabbergasted dismay. It’s hard for me to gauge sometimes. But I did tell you when you first formed the pact that you caught my interest. Why eat your entertainment when it’s still enjoyable?”

Her sobs lessen and they leaned back on the opposite walls, facing each other.

“S-So those nightmares… those were memories?”

“Correct. Likely suppressed due to the stress related to your kidnapping, but knowing that we have one sadistic sorcerer to contend against, I wouldn’t take magic off the table.”

“Who was my father? Was he the man in green?”

“Yes. Your father was the man in green. King Samuragi of Hoshido.”

“So I’m… I’m not from Nohr? I’m not related to any of them?!”

“Technically speaking, you did have a cousin at one point. But known, you have four half siblings who are the current Hoshido royal family.”

“…Half siblings?”

“It’s complicated, long, and quite frankly, I don’t have all the details myself.”

She sighed and looked up at him with her big, puffy, ruby eyes. He shrugged.

“I can’t tell you what I don’t know, my dear.”

“Ugh. Do you know who killed my father and why?”

“If you mean the actual people who committed the deed: yes. They’ve already turned to dust in some shallow grave, unable to spend any of the gold they were given as payment. As for the people who hired them, I still have yet to find that out, my dear, but I can only assume they are within the highest reaches of Nohr’s inner circle.”

“Is… is my real name Kamui?”

“Yes. Combination of the sealed memories and hiding you from your half-siblings lead to your name being changed to Corrin, which sounded more Nohrian rather than Hoshidan.”

She grumbled a bit and sniffled.

“…but for the time being, I’d recommend you keep everything I have just told you under wraps. Pretend this conversation never happened in front of everyone else, and go by the name you like best.”

She nodded. “They’d never believe me if I told them. Or trust you ever again.”

“Humans holding distrust towards a demon is a silly thing. We’re all contractually obligated to give you full disclosure and knowledge if it pertains to what was agreed on.”

She frowned, but after a moment, laughed. He joined in.

“Ah… So. When we have these conversations, I feel like I should call you something else. You act, well…”

“Less like I have a stick up my ass?”

“Yeah.”

“I don’t mind if you do, however, it may be harder to keep secret, my dear.”

“Oh… makes sense,” those words awkwardly tumbled out.

They sit in silence for a few moments before he moves to the door.

“Would you care for a glass of water, milady?”

“Yes please, Ja… J-Jakob,” she stumbled, still uncomfortable with the idea that this demon and Jakob were the same person.

He gave her a smile and stepped out of the room. By the time he returned, she’s already back asleep but missing most of the covers. He set the glass on the nightstand and pulled the blankets further up. He came to rest back in the main room, at the basic table with crummy wooden stools, fixing the latest object to fix: crummy wooden candle holders.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love the series _Baccano!_. It's written by the same person who did _Durarara!!_ , but unfortunately did not get a long anime like _Drrr!!_ did. The light novels are still wonderful! The reason why I bring this up is because of the 'alchemist' reference.
> 
> Considering the amount I have typed up, I'll probably be posting at least one a day, perhaps two if I don't rewrite and/or edit it too much. Or I'm not busy with school.


	5. Classics

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay. Cat just recently went through surgery and I've had to look after her. I only had to deal with one prison break so far! I feel so sorry for my little cone head.

Chapter 5: Classics

“LEEEEEEOOOOO!” 

Elise’s voice sang as she busted through the library doors. Her blonde-purple pigtails swayed to-and-fro as she skipped to the small reading nook Leo always sat in. It had a wonderful view out to the gardens that were in the castle’s courtyard. He was there, of course, reading a tome that had seen better years. When she stopped, he placed the book down on the table. “To what do I owe the pleasure, Elise?”

“Well, you got a letter from Flora. Camilla said it was probably something boring so she already opened it and read it. She was just going to tell you later what it said, but I thought you should read it. After all, it is _your_ letter.” She handed out the slightly crumpled, but still neatly folded letter.

“Thank you. She’s been getting to be like that with most private letters I’ve been getting lately, probably thinking they’re from suitors. I’d wish she’s stop.” Staring down at it, something caught his eye. Especially how his name was written. “… and you said it was from Flora, right?”

“Well, at least from the Northern Keep. The messenger left just a few minutes ago heading north… why do you ask?”

He unfolds the letter and looks at her signature. _So it is Felicia’s handwriting. But why would she…_ He begins to scan through the letter. There were a mess of misspellings, but the only words that were _missing_ letters were either the titles of the books, their authors, or specific items (Mr. Bubbles, the grey dragon plush Camilla had sewn for her birthday one year, for example) that Corrin treasured the most.

“Sooo... was it actually interesting?” Elise inquired after a few minutes of quiet. Leo, without looking up, reached out to the indented wall closest to where he was sitting, gave it two knocks, and tugged on a small pull that was well hidden. The wall pulled open as a snow-haired, blue-cloaked man tumbled out of the wall, startling the poor girl. Niles groaned, sat up and made sure his eye patch was on correctly, then yawned, “Milord, I had just fallen to sleep. What happened to the nap you promised me since y-“

“Tonight, I’ll read _Shadow Dragon_ , and I’ll start at _ten after_. Leave out Xander, he’s busy with meetings.” Leo stated, looking at Elise. She stared back, then slowly looked down with a bit of worry, then back up with a forced smile.

“Alllllrighty! I’ll let Camilla know. She always loves listening to you read,” she chimed, skipping like she does to find Camilla.

Niles gives a deep chuckle, “And Odin always does the sound effects.” He took his leave to find him, patting Leo on the shoulder as he walked past.

Leo nodded to both as they left, picked back up his book and continued reading. After a few minutes had passed, his emotionless facade gave into worry. He grabbed the letter and put it in a pocket of his robes and got up. On the way out, he grabbed the book _Shadow Dragon_ off the shelf and took a deep breath. _Iago, that bastard._

…

The old, brick floor was broken and uneven. There was a constant drip of water, falling into puddles that seemed to sink into the floor. Squeaks from mice, and the occasional rat, could be heard echoing down the hall. The smell of mold, rot and water was strong, sometimes overpowering. This was the unused basement’s Second Storage; code named: _Shadow Dragon_. Five candles was all the light they had down in these forgotten depths, but it was definitely enough for their small group consisting of themselves and their retainers to meet and plan without unwanted ears.

After noting all present, minus Xander and his retainers, he took a deep breath. “I’ve called us down here because of this letter,” Leo pulls the letter out of his robe, and places it on a crate with two candles on it. “Elise and Camilla can confirm that the messenger was from the Northern Keep who delivered it and that the letter is supposedly from Flora, but I can guarantee that it’s actually from Felicia. In addition, it’s written in a simple enough code when you take time to find it.”

Leo held out a hand to Odin, who produced small notebook and pencil. Finding a blank page, he set the pencil to the paper as he followed the letter, finding only the books, authors, and named-items. The letters that came out were:

B O X B A D A B D V S E R V S C O R

Leo ripped that page out and put it over the letter. He then tore out a blank sheet and set it on top of the notebook.

“Well, there’s the obvious ‘Box bad’, but after that, it’s all gibberish to me…” Elise’s voice trailed off at the end.

“And it’s a given those last three are for Corrin.” Camilla, thinking of Corrin as per usual.

"Perhaps the good-natured gratuity was but a ploy! A ruse! What lies and deceits lay beneath its latches-"

“In a language we can understand, Odin!” squawked Selena.

“He means to say that the peace offering wasn’t really that peaceful,” Leo translated.

Leo scribbles out the letters they used up, leaving them with:

A B D V S E R V S

They hit a wall. It couldn’t be a city. Not a coordinate. Not an anagram. Leo was running out of options.

“Abandoned village, southeast, Riverside.” Niles and Beruka said together. A coy smile crept across Niles’s lips glancing up to see Leo’s confused look of how they got it that fast. “Milord, when you can’t read, this is how you write down your target.”

 _Leave it to our two assassins_ , Leo and Camilla thought.

“Box bad, Abandoned Village southeast of Riverside, Corrin,” Leo reads back to the group.

"Seems she's found out whatever Iago was planning on sending to the Hoshidan royal family and let us know," Niles said folded his arms and leaned against one of the empty crates.

“That’s doesn’t sound quite right. We would know that it’s from them anyway if they sent the message. So something may have gone wrong with Corrin,” Selena countered.

“Either way, I know a certain sorcerer who will be having a _lovely_ date with my axe,” Camilla emphasized by resting it in her hands.

“No. You and Elise, take your retainers and go to the Northern Keep tomorrow. Maybe whoever delivered the letter there is still the waiting for people to take. Iago’s going to be a lot more planning before we can take him down. For now, let’s just make sure Corrin’s alright,” Leo reasoned.

With the plan in agreement, Beruka shifted to assist Effie, who had been struggling to get the metal bucket off of Arthur’s foot the entire time. With the bucket finally off, Leo threw everything related to this discussion into it, and set it on fire. The ashes were then dumped into one of the various puddles that rested on the floor. When the crowd had dissolved to just Leo and his retainers, he turned to Niles.

“You can get there in a day and a half on your own, right?”

“Aw, no Odin coming too? You know how I _love_ to hear him ramble for twelve or so hours straight.”

“Ramble? The great Odin Dark does not ramble. He just ma-“

“He’s already taken by the most hated man on the planet right now, who _insists_ he attend his lord’s private training.”

“Ah. Give him hell, milord.”

And with that, Niles was gone. Leo, before heading to the fiendish torture that was supposed to resemble ‘tutoring’, walked into Xander’s private study and placed _Shadow Dragon_ on his desk. He knew the older prince would know there was something important to discuss. Leo left the study at a hurried pace to catch up with Odin, preparing himself for the face of the man who was behind this.

…

There was a slight knock on Leo’s door. It was an odd time of night, just after 2 am according to Leo’s pocket watch. Definitely not a proper time to be knocking on someone’s door. By force of habit, Leo clutched and opened Brynhildr as he opened the door, ready to defend himself. Luckily, he didn’t need too. It was Xander, holding _Shadow Dragon_ in his hand. 

“You left this in my study. I thought I should return it to you, Leo,” he said calmly, despite his brows showing worry.

Leo let out a sigh, and invited him in. Xander entered the room quickly and took a seat in a high-backed chair that sat in front of the fireplace. “What happened? Why wasn’t I told? Whe-“ Xander started firing as soon as the door clicked closed.

“Xander. We got a message from Felicia. The peace gift was a trap,” Leo cut him off, leaning against one of his bookshelves.

“What?! What about Cor-“

“We don’t know. Elise and Camilla are on their way to her to find out. I sent Niles ahead of them to report back. But knowing who had the offering before it was given to Corrin…” Leo trailed off, trying not to think of the worst. “… It could be a number of things.”

Xander stood back up. He knew that despite Leo’s indifferent exterior towards her, he cared about her as much as the rest of them. He gave Leo a hug. “She’s going to be alright. Her retainers are capable and loyal. They won’t let her get hurt without a fight. Besides, doesn’t she have ‘the devil’s own luck’ as you say?” Xander comforted him, holding him by his shoulders.

Leo chuckled, breaking the cold expression with a smile. “We’ll know in a few days’ time. For now, we have to hide what we know. Shouldn't be any different than what we do now.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter, I know! 
> 
> I happened to choose the first Fire Emblem game that came to mind after Awakening. It was originally _Dracula_.
> 
> Why the fuck was Niles in a wall? SHENANIGANS~ Nah, I just know that castles sometimes have odd secret little cubbies here and there, and knowing Leo as the smart but still emotionally-challenged one of the Nohrians, he’d modify it to hide his valuables, tomatoes, or things he needed to save when the concubine wars were upon them. Now, he probably just puts his “to read” books in there along with tomatoes. And the occasional retainer once a few shelves were removed. Also, Niles probably scared the shit out him at one point by just randomly jumping out of it. So this was probably pay back.
> 
> On the topic of Odin: For those who write a lot more Odin into their works, I salute you. I have no idea how you guys do it. He's just so odd for me to write. I'm trying my damnedest!
> 
> ...and I'm probs not the only one who wants a Dragon plushie like what Corrin has. It's probably so snuggly and soft.


	6. Cat and Mouse

Chapter 6: Cat and Mouse

By the fifth day after the blast, Corrin was able to do most things again without difficulty. She would often assist Felicia get water from a small stream that flowed a few minutes ride from the town, hauling a cart with as many working buckets as they could find. Using her abilities, Felicia would turn the water into ice, which made it easier to carry and lift into the small cart. Other times, she would patrol the area with Gunter and deal with the occasional Faceless.

One thing she _couldn’t_ handle was Jakob. She was certain he was purposefully having more contact with her to watch her squirm. He would sit next to her during meals close than usual, he’d always be within eyesight when she wasn’t helping out someone, and when they’d 'accidentally' bump against each other, her hand would instinctively snap away as if she touched a scalding pan. His tone and expression when he would say “Are you alright, milady?” read worry, but his eyes read amusement. Of course, the other two saw her fear and concern as something else. Felicia would giggle and excuse herself sometimes while Gunter let out a small “Heh” and muttered something under his breath, going back to what he was doing. Corrin then realized what they assumed and blushed, shielding her face from them. _They think it’s that cliché young love shit that’s from Camilla’s books. That’s not at all what it is! He’s a freaking demon! Who’s going to eat my soul! Granted, he’s said that it won’t be anytime soon,_ Corrin thought.

_**I could eat you now to save you from this embarrassment, my dear.** _

_NO!_

A low chuckle rattled in her head as she glared daggers at Jakob, who in reply just smiled. She huffed and decided to distance herself from him, “Felicia, I think we need to go get more water, shall we?”

The pink-haired maid glanced back, “I actually think we’re fine on-“

“Come on, let’s go.” Corrin grabbed her arm and dragged her out of the home. Both Gunter and Jakob tried hard to stifle a small laugh at her flustered reaction. They loaded the one-horse cart that Jakob had taken time to fix with the few buckets that were actually empty and set out to the stream. The day was a bit cooler despite it being around midday, but it was sunnier than it was back at the keep, or the castle for that matter. They rode in silence, before to her dismay she heard, _**You know distance doesn’t stop me from doing this, my dear.**_

She let out a low groan and put her head once again in her hand. Felicia turned to her and smiled, “You don’t need to be so embarrassed. It’s natural to develop feelings for someone, especially since you’ve known him for nearly 10 years.”

“Wait, what? No. I don’t have feelings for him, all of you are completely misreading us,” Corrin denied.

 ** _Well, you do have feelings for me, just not_ those _feelings_** , Jakob echoed in her mind.

 _Shut it_ , Corrin snapped back at him. Felicia giggled, “Silas is going to be upset; he really did have a crush on you.”

Corrin looked up at her maid in disbelief. “Silas? Feelings for me? Nah, no way. He’s my best friend, my wingman, my pal. Almost like a third brother to me…” She reflected a moment and her hands returned to her face. She let out a sob, “How have I not noticed?”

“Well, you have always looked at Jakob when your nose hasn’t been in a book. But even I would have noticed his affection when if he snuck me out all those times.”

_**When you were out, he almost started a fight between us. It actually caught me off guard.**_

Corrin sighed. She never figured she’d be the girl that everyone wanted, and she was hating every minute of it. Felicia said in a lower and less optimistic tone she normally held, “But maybe now I can have a chance too.” 

“Wait, you like Silas?” 

Felicia’s face turned a bright shade of red and stared at Corrin with wide eyes. She looked away when she met Corrin’s eyes. “Hmph, well, best of luck to you. He’s completely vulnerable when it comes to sob stories and-“ 

The rustle of leaves cut her off as a loud roar bellowed through the brush. The two immediately got to their weapons and jumped off the now spooked horse drawn cart. Corrin drew her silvered blade cautiously scanning of her surroundings. Felicia drew several knives between her fingers, darting to get closer to her lady to guard her back. One of those lumbering green beasts charged out of the brush from where the cart once was and spotted them, roaring once more in success. The two ran forward to engage the Faceless. 

The fiend swung its fist forward, which Corrin blocked using the flat part of her blade, while Felicia took advantage of the distraction to embed a few knives into its left forearm. Disgruntled by the sudden pain, it turned its attention to the maid, trying to grab her as she danced away. Corrin, seeing an opening, landed a few slashes on the Faceless’s midsection. Howling in fury, it pounded the ground around it, causing the two young women to jump back. To their dismay, another Faceless appeared from the tree line behind Felicia. “Felicia, watch your back!” Corrin yelled. 

The brute that towered over Corrin winded up for another attack, but she took the opportunity to slice its chest before dodging out of the way. Felicia ducked under the other’s punch, and went for its legs, digging deep into the fleshy back of the knees. The Faceless moaned in pain and swung behind it, catching Felicia by surprise and throwing her against a tree. Corrin had landed a few successful blocks and blows to the lower torso before noticing her friend’s pain. She ran to assist her, but the momentary lapse in focus lead to a sharp, painful grapple from the Faceless. The suffocating grip caused Corrin to cry out and drop her blade. Felicia, coming out of her daze, dodged in time for another fist to shatter the tree that once was behind her. She drew a few more knives out and expertly targeted the heart of monster who was holding Corrin, causing it to moan and dissipate. Corrin greedily accepted the greatly needed air and landed on the ground close to her blade. The other Faceless, hampered by Felicia’s efforts, slowly shuffled towards them before two arrows threaded through the steel facemask of the creature, making it fall and disappear. 

“My, my. You should know it’s dangerous for two women to be traveling in a forest alone. You never know what you may run into,” a familiar, sultry voice spoke. 

Corrin, being helped up by Felicia, looked up to find the blue-coated bandit and his usual Cheshire grin. She was too busy catching her breath to respond to his banter, but still gave him an appreciative nod. Niles jumped down from his perch and sauntered up to the two. “I’m surprised, milady. No overprotective, stifling guard dog today? Must be my lucky day.” 

“It’s a bit… awkward between us at the moment,” she managed to state between breaths. His eye perked up, reading between the lines like he normally does. He purred, “My, if I knew you were that desperate, milady, I would have pleasured you a few days ago.” 

Her face, which had just started to lighten, turned red again, “No! No, not in that sense. Gods, is everything you think that vulgar?!” 

Felicia giggled (though missing the sensual context) as she began to heal Corrin’s wounds with her staff. Corrin, on the other hand, was just as flustered as when she left camp. Out of all the people she wished came from the castle, Niles was not remotely close to the top of the list. Niles joined with a small chuckle, “So it is a secret affair? I’ll keep your secret safe from Xander about the butler in the bed-“ 

Two silver knives cut a bit of his snow-white hair as they flew past. A low moan sounded behind them, followed by a thud, as an unseen Faceless fell to the ground. “I apologize for my tardiness, milady,” the orderly ‘guard dog’ said, coming out from the brush close to the splintered tree. 

Corrin’s blushing face paled when Jakob spoke, her eyes reflecting a moment of surprise- no, fear that Niles noted. The thief sized up Jakob before meeting the butler’s eyes with a mischievous smile. 

“Speak of the devil, and he appears.” 

“J-Jakob, why are you here?” Felicia stammered. 

Jakob, not breaking eye contact with the outlaw, explained, “Gunter reported that there were more Faceless in the vicinity than expected, so I followed behind a bit to ensure Lady Corrin’s safety.” His normally cold smile was especially icy at the moment. Niles, despite feeling colder than when he was slapped by Flora, remained locked into his gaze. 

“R-right, well…” Corrin started, with a touch of worry and glanced up the road to see the broken remnants of the cart. “We should get back. Niles probably has a lot to tell us, and we certainly have a lot to inform him.” 

“Take my horse back, milady. I’ll find the one that was lost.” 

“No, let me. I’m much more able in this sort of environment.” 

Corrin did not want to be close when the tension snapped on this situation. “Thank you, Jakob, Niles,” she quietly said, helping Felicia to the steed that was a bit further down a ways. 

_**I cleared out all Faceless on the way here, so no need to worry, my dear. Also, that is the horse that you rode with on the way here. I just want to have a little chat with this interloper.**_

_Do not kill the messenger, Jakob. No matter how much of a dick he is._

_**I don’t intend to.**_ Jakob eased Corrin's worry. Corrin, finally getting both her and Felicia situated on the horse, warned, “Don’t stay out too late then. We can replace a horse, but we can’t replace you.” 

Once Corrin had galloped out of hearing, Niles broke eye contact and the silence. He began to walk leisurely around Jakob as if questioning someone. 

“That was the same horse they rode here with, so you have something to discuss with me.” 

“Fascinating how well your eye works. Too bad you couldn’t keep both.” 

“Heh. Wrong kind of low blow I like, butler. Though it is food for thought of how you were able to keep up with them despite not having a horse and find their horse before all their fighting was done.” 

“I suppose luck wouldn’t cover it. How irksome.” 

“No way would it, and neither would talent.” 

He stopped pacing behind Jakob, and continued talking in a sarcastic tone. 

“I took some time out of my busy schedule just for you, you know. I’m surprised you’re an adult. The Jakob that matches your history died 11 years ago in a failed ransom. And based on your attire being relatively leaf, scratch, and dirt free, you obviously didn’t walk here.” 

Niles approached Jakob. Staring deep into the violets of his eyes, Niles questioned, “Why does the Corrin who once looked tenderly up to you now fear you?” 

This time, Jakob broke the contact, closing his eyes and chuckling low under his breath. He opened his eyes, and stared back at Niles, instead with slits for pupils, almost cat-like, but certainly not human. Jakob thought that this would cause the outlaw to back off, but Niles only smirked back. Instead of fear, his eye sparkled with curiosity. 

“I had heard of doppelgängers before from old children’s stories, but never thought they’d be real.” 

Jakob let out a hardy “Heh” at the assumption. “Doppelgänger? I am more powerful than that, however, I must commend you for your guess. Not many humans can I show my eyes to and still have their wits. Perhaps you are use to it is the reason you wear the patch.” 

Niles shakes his head. “The patch is to a hole that will never be fixed. I can say that I’ve had experience with the unexplained.” He folded his arms and continued, “I assume you know Odin, possibly Selena and Laslow, aren’t your average person either.” 

“You amaze me again; Lord Leo chose right in sparing your life.” 

“Please, you flatter me. May you at least reward me with the reason a being such as yourself comes to serve a young lady alone in a castle?” 

Half surprised he didn’t ask for a different kind of reward, Jakob responded, “Those reasons are for Lady Corrin to share, not I. As for a reward, I will tell you one thing you haven’t been able to figure out: what Odin is.” 

“Such a tease. I’ll bite.” 

“He is a reaper; someone who once lived and took their own life. They now roam to collect the death reels, or memories if that makes it easier for you to understand, of those who have passed on.” 

Niles took a moment to process that information. “…Interesting. That would mean that you also have to deal with people's ‘souls’ so to speak, considering those three become agitated when you enter the room. I misspoke earlier when I said ‘devil’. Would have been much more accurate to say ‘demon’.” 

“I’m glad Lady Corrin asked me not to kill you, because I likely would have by now.” 

“So she has control over you? I only wonder what happened to that girl to have caused her to be bound to a fiendish fate. Many things to look into when I get the chance.” 

“It won’t be much different from the worst day of your childhood. Minus the eye bit, of course.” 

“Surprised I didn’t attract a demon or two then, considering the hell I’ve been through.” 

“Well, one would be that you never asked, and the second would be your wish would have been incompatible with us.” 

“I suppose you’re right.” 

“Now then, shall we head back? It’s been long enough to suggest that we searched for a bit.” 

“Lead the way, demon butler.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've always seen Niles as being one smart cookie once he knows what he's researching, especially when it comes to people or reading a situation. I suppose it comes with the territory, considering his background. And with his background, he's had his fair share of 'demons' in his lifetime, though not a legit demon like Jakob is, so he's not phased in the slightest. Also, despite Niles having the world’s shittiest childhood, his desire would never have been able to be fulfilled by a demon, considering the thing he asked for from Leo was death.
> 
> That’s not to say that I haven’t thought about it, which I have been while working on this. I’m going to be posting a fic using the same AU (not same story line, not even a side story to this) but instead of Jakob being the demon, Leo is the demon. I had to extend the reaper clause to assisted suicide, but pretty much has to do with the ‘what if’s’ of Leo fulfilling Niles’s request of death by making a pact to kill him. It’s not nearly as serious as this fic is, despite its serious tagging, but it was written when I got stuck and/or bored while writing this one.


	7. Eagles' Wings

Chapter 7: Eagles’ Wings

Gunter grit his teeth. He didn’t like the slimy rogue as much as Jakob, but knew better than to voice his disapproval of the retainer (at least, for now) when the thief had pertinent information. Niles smirked at the old knight’s disgust and leisurely took a seat on a stool, crossing one leg up above his other knee.

“My, what a wonderful welcome.”

Gunter responded with a grunt, crossing his arms. 

“Now then, it is good to see everyone is alright. I suppose your knight in shining armor is the one who delivered the message?”

Corrin nodded, “Yes, he did. Why are you here alone? I would have thought Leo would have sent you with a few people.”

“What, were you expecting someone else? I’m hurt.”

“To the point, thief,” barked Jakob.

“Lady Camilla and Lady Elise, along with their retainers, will be here by noon tomorrow. I was sent alone by Lord Leo. I am just a humble messenger between the two of you.”

There was a stifled chuckle from Jakob and Gunter at ‘humble’, but they nodded in approval. Felicia’s eyes glowed in delight at the news. Corrin, however, looked down in silence. “I would have liked not to get Elise involved…” she grumbled.

“Well, your well being was the top priority, and considering Lady Elise is one of the best healers, she couldn’t say no.” Niles paused and leaned forward, resting his elbow on his raised knee and chin on his fist. “Now, where exactly is this big, bad, box?”

Jakob and Corrin’s eyes left the snow-haired man in guilt. Felicia paled and Gunter cleared his throat. He reported, “In thousands of little bits, about a few hours ride in a clearing. The gift was a trap. Jakob and Corrin were caught in the blast because they were foolish enough to open it.”

“Heh,” he smirked and looked at Jakob, who narrowed his eyes at the one-eyed man. “Everyone appears to be alright, so why the fuss?”

“A-actually, Lady Corrin suffered a concussion. The blast threw her back onto a big rock, and without Jakob’s quick thinking, she would’ve… w-would’ve…” Felicia stopped that train of thought and exhaled. She continued, “She just recently recovered enough to get out of bed.”

Niles nodded, then shifted to his other fist, elbow on the table. “Mmm, which explains the distress letter. Wonderful to see you are doing much better, Lady Corrin. How long ago was the blast?”

“Five days. We sent Silas that night when we arrived.”

“Amazing. He took at most two days to make a three day trip. It would be disappointing if he was that quick in b-”

“Does Lord Leo have any plan to handle Iago?” Jakob interrupted, much to everyone’s pleasure. Niles laughed, and shook his head.

“Not entirely as of yet. Milord wanted to know Lady Corrin’s well being first and foremost. That’s not to say he hasn’t been keeping tabs on Iago, considering the sorcerer took it upon himself to… ‘tutor’ the prince.” Corrin’s face cringed in disgust at that statement. Niles met her eyes and shrugged. “He likes it as much as you do, milady. Anyway, when the others arrive and a new plan for you is formed, I will report back to him.”

“Definitely a ‘keep friends close, sick bastards closer’ situation, that’s for sure,” Corrin muttered. 

Niles teased, “I’m insulted that you would put me in the same group as that sadistic fuck.”

Corrin looked up and realized what she said. She blushed and waved her hands, “No, no no… I didn’t mean to insult you. You aren’t a-”

“Relax milady, I meant it in jest.”

We have similar tastes, huh demon? He thought, noticing Jakob’s faint smile at Corrin’s flustered state. Jakob’s eyes focused back on Niles, narrowing. _**Indeed, but I would rather do the toying as well as enjoy the prospects. I don’t need you to do you to do it for me.**_

Niles chuckled. Corrin let out a sigh and leaned into her hand. Felicia finally relaxed and went to prepare some of the few rations they had left. Gunter got up and left to go patrol.

 _One more day_ , Corrin thought, _We’ll be fine, I mean, we’ve already spent five days without real issues._

…

The day slowly turned to night for the party of five. Niles and Jakob were first watch and situated themselves on the roof of the house. The two first sat in silence before Niles asked him a question.

“So, how many of you guys are there, anyway?”

“Hmm… interesting question. Not that I have to share anything with you… unless you want to make some sort of deal with me.”

“Oh please, what soul of mine would you take?”

“The soul of a broke, sex-minded, peasant is still a soul. Just like coin covered in blood is still money.”

“And a butler is still a butler, even if he is a demon.”

Jakob laughed. “I’m one _hell_ of a bu-”

The two paused. A low, ominous drone grew louder as they chatted. What they shrugged off as nocturnal noise was actually three, no, eight, no… Niles ducked down through a hole in the poorly thatched roof, waking up everyone inside. Gods knew they were going to need all hands on deck for this one.

The sheer amount of them was frightening. Gunter reported there being more in the area, but this was… This was more than ‘more’. This was unit of them, or a platoon, or as Niles put it when he woke them up, a fuck ton of them.

Felicia protected Gunter as he mounted his steed, and he returned the favor by skewering one that tried to strike her from behind. Niles was supporting from the rooftops, picking off the ones they didn’t finish off with well placed shots. Jakob, with superhuman precision, jabbed at vital muscles in their arm, making their punches limp as Corrin finished them off with a gutting slice from groin to throat. For the first few, they kept pace. However, they quickly became flooded with the green monsters.

Buildings that Niles was shooting from began to collapse due to the Faceless trying to confront him directly, though because his quick reflexes, he floated from one roof to the next and gracefully navigated around the weaknesses in the thatch. Jakob, now back to back against Corrin as four Faceless found their way attacking both him and Corrin. With Niles somehow assisting them while doing flips from house to house, Corrin sliced through one and in the same fluid motion, sliced an arrowed-filled one in its midsection. It howled in pain, but was silenced by Jakob’s knives driving into its spine. She blocked a punch from another, pushing her back towards Jakob, who dodged her and threw two knives at the one approaching from behind him.

Meanwhile, Gunter sliced and diced using his lance, causing them to growl in pain. He wasn’t as fast as Felicia, who was currently going for they’re legs, trying to slow their stumbling to Gunter. She dodged and danced around several punches, kicks, and pounds, dealing many gashes to the back of their knees. While most fell to their knees, forcing them to temporarily halt, some became furious and pounded the ground. Being caught too close, Felicia prepared to take a beating before an arrow shot through its heart, causing it to sink to the ground. She looked at the crumbling building next to her and gave a nod to the blue-eyed guardian. 

After taking out many of them, exhaustion caught up. Felicia got caught up in one set of chains, almost failing to dodge a swipe from a different one. Corrin struck one down, with two to replace the one she took out. Jakob, being a demon, wasn’t breaking a sweat but was forced to go on the defensive to protect his contractee. Gunter took a hard hit, knocking him off his horse. He pulled out his sword and began to regroup with the others. Niles ran out of places to jump to, so after jumping from one Faceless head to the next, he reached the rest of the group. The worn out group were back to back, slowly being surrounded by the decaying monstrosities. One let out a bellowing roar in triumph. There was a thud as the roar stopped. 

“That goose really wasn’t paying attention to where it was going!” a heroic voice came near the once roaring fiend.

Niles rolled his eyes, “My hero.”

Arthur lifted his axe out of the Faceless before jumping back and to dodge the next punch. There was a screech as a wyvern dove down, clawing at the attacking monster. Beruka, mounted on top of said wyvern, threw a throwing axe to a distant Faceless, followed up by a ball of fire hitting it square in the chest. Camilla flew over head, holding her tome in one hand and axe in the other. Effie slid off Camilla’s ride and flattened another Faceless, not too far away from Arthur. 

Corrin smiled. “Camilla, thank the Gods!”

“Corrin! I was so worried about you! Don’t worry, I’ll kill them all for trying to hurt you.” Camilla swooped down and beheaded another Faceless with her axe.

“Hey! Don’t forget about me!” Elise’s voice squeaked as she rode in. Selena, sitting behind her, swiped and slashed as she rode by, taking out a few others that Effie and Arthur had injured. A green light began to glow around Elise before fading and appearing around Gunter, healing him from his wound from earlier. The five, with renewed vigor, fought on.

Niles shot down a few aiming for Beruka, and in turn she took out a few that happened to get close to him. Gunter and Selena cut through one in tandem, cutting the beast into three pieces. Felicia landed a few hits on one aiming for Elise, Camilla finishing it off in the end. Corrin dealt with one Arthur had weakened, not noticing the one readying to sock her. Jakob landed a few knives in its chest before a grey-armored knight barreled through yelling, “Corrin! Your 6!”

Finished with the one she was dealing with, she used her momentum to pivot and stabbed the one that was targeting her from behind. Silas followed up by piercing it from behind with his lance, causing the Faceless to fade to ash. “Thanks, Silas. I’m glad to see that you’re ok.”

“I should be saying that! I was worried sick the whole ride there and back that you didn’t wake up.” Her best friend replied as the two of them took out another Faceless. 

The eleven of them made short work of the remaining monsters. After Camilla and Beruka did a quick fly over seeing if there were more on the way, they met back at the house. The structure was worse for wear, but still standing and providing shelter. They entered relaxed, and everyone was at ease.

Corrin didn’t mind being near suffocated by Camilla’s bosom and Elise hugging her on the other side. “We’re glad you’re ok, Corrin! Silas told us what happened on the way here and we wou- no couldn’t stop until we knew you were alright.”

“I’m sorry I caused you so much worry…” Corrin sobbed, appreciating her sisters’ presences. While they had their moment, Selena’s eyes narrowed towards Jakob and Arthur asked Niles, “Niles! I thought only we were coming. Please don’t have some nefarious plot in mind.”

“If by ‘nefarious’ you mean playing a high-speed and low-key messenger for Lord Leo, then I’m guilty of the dastardly deed,” Niles spat back, crossing his arms.

A look of confusion appeared on Arthur’s face, but knowing that Lord Leo would likely do something along those lines, nodded. Selena, still staring daggers into Jakob, huffed and walked outside using some excuse that it was too cramped inside. Taking the hint, Jakob followed shortly after, stating that he should go and recover some of the knives that were used since supplies were sparse. 

...

Selena sat close to one of the ruined houses. She was angry, resting her death scythe (pickaxe) against the wall. She looked up when Jakob got close, closed the reel she was looking over, and marched over to him. 

“Look. I don’t know what kind of game you’re playing here, demon, but all these death reels are screwed up. Like, royally screwed up. I’m going to get my ass chewed out over this,” she accused him, pointing straight to him.

“Whatever do you mean? You know as well as I do that I only really care about eating souls, not tampering with death reels.” 

“Don’t play dumb. These reels are incomplete…” She looked back to the reel, and corrected herself, “No, rather they’re a collection of memories. Not all from the same person either. The only shady person who could do this is you!”

“If I remember correctly, only people with a death scythe can tamper with death reels. You’re accusations should be elsewhere.”

She paused and looked down in defeat. “R-right. That really does mean that someone else did it... Unless you stole his scythe. That would be-”

“Once again, wrong, you fool. But there’s now a scythe missing. Fascinating what you can get out of a pissed off reaper grasping for straws.” Jakob smiled at her mistakes.

Selena blushed in rage as well as embarrassment. “To accuse my fellow reapers and to insult me! This is why you demons should be dealt with! But no, our superiors won’t let us engage because of our mission.”

“The only thing we fought were Faceless, so it’s interesting that something that has no soul as these… ‘death reels’? Oh, the memories, right?” Niles announced his presence with a query. 

Her eyes grew to saucers and she dismissed her scythe. “W-wh-what are you talking about, Niles? W-what is a ‘death reel’? I have no clue, hahahaha, ha… ha,” she failed to brush off.

Niles smirked and sauntered closer. Jakob looked over his shoulder to him and nodded. “We should be terrified of Lord Leo. He really knows how to choose observant retainers.”

“It’s all apart of the territory; not every person can tell a poisoned tea and live.”

“How does he know?!?”

“He knew Odin wasn’t human and used that knowledge to speculate that I was a demon. I was quite impressed with it.”

“Gods dammit Odin. He had to be weird.”

“I’m curious. If scythes are the only thing to alter or collect reels and only reapers have scythes and one scythe has gone missing, why do you accuse the one person who isn’t any of those things?”

“L-Look. We needed a lead. When we saw him and things happened, Laslow figured he’d be a good lead to go on for now. But we have lost contact with one member of our group.”

“So a reaper who has access to your superior and the ability to use a death scythe who’s gone missing isn’t your first lead?” Jakob laughed, “I knew reapers were incompetent when they were living, but they are just as bad as reapers now-”

“SHUT IT,” She shouted and marched back to the house. Niles was surprised at her sudden aggravation, and looked back at Jakob.

“Apparently you hit a nerve. Good luck on getting any more information out of her now.”

“When we meet with her colleagues, I can gather info from them. I have enough for now.” Jakob headed back, sighing and preparing to take more stare-daggers from Selena. Niles hummed, and followed behind.

…

Corrin was forced to sit in Camilla’s lap because she wouldn’t let her sit an inch away from her in a different chair. Elise was looking her over from head to toe, paying close attention to the few-days-old scab on the back of her head. She studied it and smiled. “Felicia, you did a really good job healing this, considering what you had to work with!”

“T-thanks, but according to Jakob, it was you who pulled through. He was able to find one of the extra Elixirs you gave her and he was able to apply it quickly.” Felicia placed the last of their rations on the table for the newly arrived, which were quickly gobbled up by Effie. Beruka took a small bowl of soup before Effie got to it and retreated back to the wall she was leaning against.

Elise beamed with pride at that statement. She pulled a salve from her bag and spread it on the scab. Corrin let out a hiss in slight pain and Camilla squeezed her a little tighter into her chest, whispering endearments into her ear. Silas placed his hand over Corrin’s also to support her, but she quickly retreated her hand away from his. Before Silas could ask, Gunter cleared his throat.

“Now that you’re both here, Lady Camilla and Lady Elise, we must figure out a course of action. We’ve been still for much too long, and Iago’s likely to be expecting some news from Hoshido by now.”

“Right. That horrid man. And you can’t come home _or_ go there if I remember what Silas said,” Camilla started, looking to Silas for confirmation. “We could head south to one of the smaller nations, like Nestra or Notre Sagesse. They have remained neutral, er… _mostly_ neutral despite Nohr’s trend towards conquest.”

“Mostly neutral?” Corrin cocked her head. Camilla nodded. “There’s talk of small riots against Nohr’s influence popping up in Cheve, which is very close to Nestra’s borders. But they’ve been peaceful to my knowledge.”

Corrin hummed in acknowledgement. Selena ripped the door open and stomped in red faced, and sat at a stool. Arthur, being the man of justice, took the hit for the team. “Anything wrong, Selena?”

“Nothing. NOTHING is wrong. Just Jakob and Niles being insufferable assholes who should fall off the planet.”

 _Everything as usual_ , was an unanimous thought in the room.

The two guilty parties entered the room shortly after. Camilla glared at their false innocence. “Jakob, I thought you of all people wouldn’t do this to my retainer.”

“My apologies, milady. I asked her specifics on your travels while collecting knives, but our subject strayed,” he lied. Niles shrugged and added, “I guess I took a joke too far. I’m sorry, Lady Camilla, Selena.”

Selena’s icy stare found their mark, as they expected. “Apology accepted,” she said apathetically. 

Corrin laughed and filled the three retainers on their plan. Selena and Jakob approved the plan, while Niles pulled out a map of the Nohr side of the Bottomless Canyon. Looking over it a bit, he stated under his breath, “I believe I can make that work.” He continued in his usual but slightly less joking manner, “I will leave here early tomorrow for the castle, I can inform Lord Leo of our plans, your condition and ask him which we should head to. I’ll be able to meet you with the answer at Woods of Forlorn, which is almost equidistant from both Nestra and Notre Sagesse.”

Silas, very much apprehensive about the ex-thief and not wanting him close to Corrin, supported this plan. The others, being much more accepting of his nature, also agreed. They ate the little food that remained after Effie had a ‘snack’ and got very little sleep that night, all worried for what the future may hold.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, FINALLY, I had a set up to use the infamous line from Black Butler.
> 
> Also, I always thought Cheve was in Nestra, but apparently it’s in Nohr. So is Port Dia, but I was like "Hmm... Nope. It's sunny there, so it can't be in Nohr. It's close enough to Notre Sagesse." I imagine the border between the city state and the country would be at Mount Garou. Likewise, the Ice Tribe is probs along the border with Nestra. It would have been soooo much easier if they just made a political map for this world!


End file.
